The heart of the matter
by MacyBear17
Summary: A Modern take of the JA classic. Will doctors Lizzie Bennet and William Darcy still be able to get their happily ever after if they were in today's age, with newer and more complicated problems littering their path to happiness? ExD, JxC and RxG
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Hi!... I am very excited to present to you guys the new P and P fic I am going to try my hand at. **_

_**It is a modern adaptation of the classic JA book, I will try to keep most of it the same, just changing details to fit the timeline and the modern age. As I am sure everyone knows by now, I have this thing for these three pairs - E/D, J/C and R/G. So, this fic is also gonna feature these three pairs. That is all the info you guys're gonna get now... the rest of it, you can find out by reading this...**_

_**Hope y'all like it and support it as much as you seem to have the other P and P fic I have written. **_

_**Oh and before I forget, 'The Season of Love' is almost complete, it just needs it's epilogue, which I will upload sometime during next week...**_

_**Without further ado, here's**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 01<strong>

Thomas Bennet was an intelligent man... a genius in fact. But his fabled intelligence had been almost no help when it came to the dictates of his heart. At 24, he had met and promptly fallen in love with the most entrancing creature he had ever seen. She had been a 20 year old nurse then, inexperienced but ebullient, beautiful but so innocent of her own appeal that she had blown every brain cell inside Thomas Bennet's head. That was the only explanation that made sense, for he had found himself married to Francesca Gardiner at the end of a whirlwind courtship of all of three weeks. It had however, taken him less than twenty four hours into their marriage to determine that they were wholly unsuited for each other. Other than her beauty and charm, Fran had nothing else to contribute to their relationship and Tom, being the golden boy of the surgical interns as he was, found that he couldn't have chosen worse had he just blindly picked a woman off the streets to be his life partner.

But the passion and haste brought about by the inexperience of youth had led him to make a decision that he could spend the rest of his life regretting... if not for one little fact. Thomas Bennet was determined to spend the rest of his life head over heels in love with his beautiful but empty headed wife.

For her part, Fran Bennet might have gotten her hands on better looking boys, or someone more fun... someone who had money, connections and the ability to give her everything she wanted... which was a lot of things. There had been a lot of guys who had caught her eye, who fulfilled a lot of her criteria. But of all of them, the man she ultimately fell for, had almost none of this. Thomas Bennet had been a med student when she had met him at a party thrown by one of his friends and had promptly fallen in love with the dark good looks, the piercing green eyes that looked as if they could see into her soul and the knowing grin that seemed to say that he knew every thought that ran across her mind. The only thing that distinguished him from the others had been the fact that he had treated her like a princess... like she was something precious, something to be cherished.

What had begun as childish attraction for her had solidified into ardent love in the course of the three weeks and at the end of it, she had known that if there was a man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, it would be Tom Bennet. She knew that his intelligence could have gotten him any girl he wanted, he could easily have gotten bored with her. In fact she had half expected Tom to do so... So when he had proposed one fine day at the end of the three weeks, it had taken Fran no time before she jumped into his arms and screamed her assent.

It was the unlikely but extremely strong and lasting love between the two that kept their relationship and marriage going from strength to strength for almost thirty years now. They had seen good times and bad, weathered the bad ones together and shared the joy of the good ones. Their union gave five daughters as a result... Fran's only unfulfilled wish during the entirety of their marriage... her inability to give birth to a son. There were two sets of twins, separated by a single girl child.

Jane and Elizabeth Bennet had been honeymoon babies, born less than a year after the wedding of their parents. Jane was a happy and generous child, very soft mannered and forgiving. She had the looks of her mother and the gentle disposition suited to one so very pretty. Her sister Elizabeth however, was probably the most curious and daring child the world.. or at least this corner of it, had seen. Dark haired and green eyed like her father, Elizabeth got her curiosity and intelligence from the same parent that gave her her good looks. While Jane had grown up to be their mother's most favored daughter, because of her beautiful looks and gentle nature, Elizabeth had matured into the role of her father's favorite. The two sisters, though very different in personalities however, had the strongest bond imaginable between themselves, often knowing the other's emotions just by looking at them.

Jane, being the generous, gentle soul she was, decided that her station in life was that of helping others as much as she could. In keeping with that, Jane Bennet became an occupational Physiotherapist, while she volunteered at more charities than she could afford time for, in her free time. Elizabeth followed in her father's footsteps, till she overtook even him in brilliance in her chosen field. At 27, Elizabeth Bennet had been the most sought after Cardiothoracic surgeon in the United States. She had, by then, spent nearly two years running from one operating theater to another, saving most and losing some of her patients, but most importantly, making a difference wherever she could. Her hectic life, with literally no time to breathe between surgeries and consultations, had left little time for her personal life and it had been well and good till she had received news one evening when she came out of yet another open heart surgery, that her father had suffered a cardiac arrest.

Though just a mild one, Thomas Bennet had suffered a heart attack. It had been the one thing that could turn Elizabeth away from her lucrative and highly satisfying career.. and it was the one thing that did. She cleared all pending cases, shunted others that did not require her expertise, offloaded her case load and patient charts to her trusted and competent friends before she quit her position at the Boston General... the biggest specialty hospital in the entire USA. Her return to New Haven had resulted in her taking over for her father for the semester, for he was now the acclaimed Professor and Chair of the department of Surgery and one of the most popular professors at the Yale Medical School in New Haven Connecticut... Thomas had not wanted to leave his students hanging, simply because he couldn't stand up in class to lecture or perform any procedures for the next couple of months and asked Elizabeth to step in for him for a couple of months. She wasn't to know that what started as a couple of months would expand to take up pretty much the rest of her life in Connecticut.

She had known what she was getting into when she went back... both on the personal and professional fronts... but to Elizabeth, her father's life and well being counted for more. Back at New Haven, Elizabeth knew that she would not only be forced to take over for all her father's classes, she would also have to submit to being grilled relentlessly by her obsessive mother about her social life or the utter and complete lack of it. Though Elizabeth loved her mother, she had never been able to respect the woman like she did her other parent and while the questioning was borne with a lot of patience, she definitely never had the appetite for undergoing it... much like her second sister, Mary.

Mary Bennet was born about two years after the twins, a perfect mixture of her parents with dark hair and blue eyes. She was both studious in her outlook and dogged in her determination and it was decided by all that she formed the perfect mid point between both her sisters and her parents. Had her sisters been more cruel, they might have commented that Mary Bennet was born a fifty year old. Mary was an old soul, her likes and dislikes being far more mature than those of her peers... She had decided by the age of ten, that she wanted to own and run a bookstore by herself. She was sure of what she wanted in life and made whatever effort she could to work towards it.

Her determination had proved strong in the face of all the obstacles she faced and at 25, Mary Bennet might very well have been the youngest successful entrepreneur on the east coast. Her chain of specialty bookstores called BookNooks, was the current rage among the younger age groups, making it one of the trendiest hang out spots of the season. The fame and fortune that followed her successful business venture failed to bring any major changes to the middle Bennet child, much to the chagrin of her younger twin sisters and their mother.

Tom and Fran Bennet had been satisfied with the three daughters that God had seen fit to gift them and had finally settled into a sort of routine with the kids. Neither of them was looking to add to the family by then... However, the world it seemed, had other plans for the couple. Because almost nine years later, when Jane and Elizabeth were about 10 years old and Mary a very mature eight and a half, came the surprise twins... Catherine or Kitty as she preferred to be called, and Lydia, the babies of the family. These two were also very good blends of their parents, with Kitty being a blue eyed dark haired child while Lydia was a bright blonde green eyed sprite. Their temperaments however, seemed to favor that of their mother's, which though endearing them to both parents, made their work of parenting them that much harder. Kitty, though being the elder of the two, was much more easily led into following her younger and bolder sister's frequently daring and almost perpetually disastrous schemes.

From infancy itself, Lydia Bennet had displayed a profound dislike for rules and manners, preferring to get whatever she wanted by way of temper tantrums or shameless emotional blackmail. Had Kitty not been so easily led by her younger sister, she might have matured into a cheerful, well mannered young lady... but as it was, she was too secure in her position as Lydia's shadow, to even think of deserting her sister's influence and venturing out on her own. Having grown into their petulant and spoiled personalities, liberally fueled in their behavior by their indulgent mother and most of the time absent minded father, the two of them had decided that they would simply have to get into the acting and theater programs at NYU. Even though Kitty, with her better academic performance, had other, better options, that she chose to follow her less academically inclined sister to NYU for the theater program should have signaled to the Bennet family just how much hold the dreadfully spoiled youngest child had on her sister. whether they saw it and chose to ignore it or whether they completely missed it, is something to be discussed at another time. But none of them knew just how much that oversight was to affect their lives later.

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><p><em><strong>AN: So... how did you guys like it? Is it a good beginning to an even better story?**_

_**Next chapter will have the Darcy and Bingley families being introduced. I will try and move this into first gear without too much more procrastination... but just in case, please bear with me if I start to wax poetic about Dr. William Darcy's eyes. :)**_

_**Please don't forget to review your thoughts and ideas... I always welcome all sorts of feedback... even flames. At least that way I know what to change... :P**_

_**Keep reading and reviewing, **_

_**Lotsa luv and Coconut Cookies**_

_**MB**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: First off, thank you to the two of you who reviewed on the first chapter, **_**hrhdana**_** and **_**to lazy to log in(whoever you are)**_**... Here's the second one as promised. Hope you guys like it too... Please review your thoughts and ideas... the storyline is still very much open to changes and I would love to hear from you and incorporate your ideas if I could.**_

_**:)**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 02<strong>

Doctor Fitzwilliam Henry Darcy was sick of it... he was so freakin sick of it that if he could, he would just slit his wrists with his own scalpel if it got him out of attending another boring and pointless administrative meeting at the Angel of Mercy Hospital when there were patients waiting for his time and attention. But Catherine De Bourgh, the CFO of the hospital and his Aunt... or so she called herself, wouldn't hear of his missing even a single meeting when she was around.

Will almost groaned out loud with his head in his hands as her incredibly loud voice once again grated on his nerves... nerves that were already shot because he had run from one surgery to another for pretty much the whole day, going without any rest for more than thirty hours now. Will knew that it worked only and only because he was still young... having not crossed the dreaded 30 yet, but he couldn't afford to take so many patients and hope to succeed in every operation he handled once he grew even a bit older. Sooner or later, he would either lose control over himself or his confidence and make a mistake. And the way things seemed to be heading, it would be sooner, rather than later.

Ever since she had taken over the position of CFO at his father's death, Ms. De Bourgh had not only led the hospital with an iron fist, but also a will of steel and a no tolerance policy. It might have been beneficial for the hospital and it's staff, had she not had such antiquated views and anachronistic ideas. Even though Will Darcy was the leading Neurosurgeon and the CEO of the hospital, he could not over rule his Aunt's decisions as the position had come to her by way of his late father's wish.

Ms. De Bourgh always called herself Anne Darcy's sister, while Will knew that the truth was that she was actually his mother's cousin and they hadn't even been that close when his mom had been alive, After Anne Darcy's death during a difficult childbirth bearing the Darcy's second child when Will had been just 9 years old, George Darcy had felt that his children needed a woman's influence in their lives. He had categorically refused to even consider marrying again, as he had been head over heels in love with his late wife. His preoccupation with his work, as a leading Cardiologist of his time, had left him little time to spend with his children and under pressure, he had come to a decision that he might not have arrived at in normal circumstances.

He had invited the widowed cousin of Anne, Catherine De Bourgh and her daughter Anne, who had been named after his late wife, to come and live with them. While Catherine had been overjoyed to get her hands on the Darcy home and fortune, she had regretfully declined the offer to come to Pemberley, siting the poor health of her own child. While Anne De Bourgh had never had a very sturdy constitution, she was not a sick child. Catherine had offered instead to take both children with her to Rosings, her home estate, far from Pemberley and Boston, an offer Will was sad to know his father had accepted with alacrity. While George Darcy wasn't what you would call an absent parent, he had somehow given more importance in those later years of his life, to his work and the biggest mistake of his life... his secretary's son George Wickham.

And so William and his baby sister Georgiana had spent eight long and hard years at Rosings, where while their every whim was catered to, their freedom of speech, thought and movement were curbed quite strictly. Ms. De Bourgh was a woman of antiquated ideals, who believed in the superiority of the upper class, giving more importance to money and society than the basic humane qualities that a person required. William knew even as a child that her views were unsuitable to him and had quietly but stubbornly pursued his own path, unable to rebel outright, but unwilling to give up on the ideals his mother had taught him when he was younger. Had it not been for their other cousins, Frederick and Richard Fitzwilliam, who were the children of Anne and Catherine's brother Andrew Fitzwilliam, spending their holidays with the Darcy and De Bourgh children, Will knew that his childhood might have ended up being very, very different.

While Fred had given him the necessary support and confidence as an older brother, Rich had been the one who truly understood and complimented the often-too-serious-for-his-own-good Will's personality. Will and Rich had spent so much time together, even though Rich was almost three years younger, that they had become more brothers than cousins over the years of having to suffer Rosings. Their close relationship had survived high school, Pre-Med and Med School on Will's part and Pre-Law and Law School on Rich's side... and was strong as ever now that they were both free from the oppression of Rosings but still stuck under the thumb of Ms. De Bourgh. While Will had followed his dream of becoming a Doctor and climbed the ladder of Angel of Mercy General like any other intern, Rich had opened a law firm with a couple of his buddies after Law School and under pressure from his father and aunt, agreed to act as Legal Counsel for the hospital.

It was his jovial but calm presence that enabled Will to weather most of the admin meetings that their aunt pushed them into attending regularly, but this particular day, Rich had seen fit to ditch his cousin to face the two hour self glorifying monologue from their aunt alone. And as a result, he was fast losing whatever bit of patience he had retained from dealing with less than ideal operating conditions, unimpressive staff and completely untrained interns. So involved in wallowing in his own misery was he, that Will had completely stopped listening to whatever was happening in the room and when the phone beside his aunt rang stridently, interrupting her equally loud voice, he was the only one in the room who wasn't all that relieved.

Frowning down at the instrument as if it had done something incredibly offensive, the older woman picked up the receiver to bark a hello into it

"What is it?"

The reply from the other side could not be heard but it was clear from her face that Ms. De Bourgh did not appreciate being interrupted and was about to give the caller a piece of her mind...a big piece. But something the caller had said made her desist and with a sniff, she replaced the phone back into its position and turned to face the table... and Will

"Fitzwilliam... you are being summoned in the ICU... it was your... friend"

She said the last word as if it was an infectious disease... and a recently attentive Will made the mental connection. His best friend besides Rich was his room mate from College and Med School, Charles Bingley. While the Bingley's were rich people, his family owning a Pharmaceutical company, according to Ms. De Bourgh, they were the noveau riche and so beneath her notice. She was often noted bragging about how both the Darcy's and Fitzwilliam's had come to the US on the Mayflower, something no one had ever seen or heard the proof of... not that anybody even bothered to listen to one of her long speeches on family lines and her relation to the Royal family of England.

With a poorly suppressed sigh of relief, William all but bolted out of the board room, his aunt's admonitions of how he lacked the manners a man in his position needed, how he could not sigh or run when in company, ringing in his ears as he hurried around the bend to the corridor that would lead him to the ICU.

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><p>Inside the ICU, Will was surprised to find that his friend wasn't there, in fact he hadn't even been around the ICU since that morning. Charles Bingley could be forgiven for not making the rounds of the ICU because he was an anesthesiologist, one of the best in the business in fact. He and Will had become fast friends from the day Will had saved Charlie from being unmercifully ragged in Med School. Finding that they were each other's room mates had just been the icing on an already sweet cake. While Will gave Charlie the necessary self confidence and support that he needed, Charlie did for Will what only Rich could do otherwise... lighten him up and help him enjoy life at his own pace, while making sure that Will did not stand in a corner and glower at the others at any social event that Charlie could drag him to... which were many in number.<p>

Walking back to Charlie's office at a leisurely pace now that he had found that no emergency awaited him in the ICU, he could only think of thanking his friend for getting him out of the meeting... no matter that he had lied about the reason for his exit. While Will was ordinarily strictly against lying or subterfuge of any sort, at this moment, he could find no wrong in Charlie's actions as they had gotten him out of the meeting before he had bashed his own head in with the overly ornate silver flower vase that stood impossibly huge in the middle of the board room, serving no purpose other than blocking the people sitting around it from one another. While meetings in that room were always uncomfortable, no one had found the guts to tell Ms. De Bourgh that and the ones who could, Will and Rich to be precise, were too used to their Aunt's ways and knew that any objection would be met only with a brick wall of her resolute indifference to their opinions.

If Catherine De Bourgh wanted something done a certain way, she got it done that way... or she fired the person she had hired for the job and hired another one who would do it the way she liked... it didn't matter whether the person she had hired was qualified for the job or not. The Angel of Mercy had once been a premier healthcare giver in the state of Massachusetts... but with Ms. De Bourgh at the helm, the standards had only gone down and the way Will saw it, that was the only way they were gonna go if this management continued.

He'd had so many ideas and ideals about running the hospital that his family had started and run for so many years but somehow, his aunt had found ways to stop him from executing each and every one of them. Over the years, Will had completely lost any liking he'd had for the woman and also his will to change the way things were run at the hospital. His only concern now were his patients and doing as much as he could for he people of the city. Thus the super tight schedule and complete absence of social life.

With all these sombre thoughts making rounds of his mind, he entered his friend's office to come face to face with not only Charlie but also the smirking face of Richard Fitzwilliam

"Rich!... you bas****... I swear... one day I am gonna kill you, chop you up in little pieces and feed you to Catherine..."

"Good to see ya too Willie boy"

"You ditched me... "

His voice sounded faintly petulant even to Will

"Forgive me my sweet... I was unaware we had a date..."

"Oh shut it Rich... You know you were supposed to attend the meeting with me... Thank you Charles for the rescue by the way..."

"Oh you can thank Richard for it... It was his idea... in fact it was him on the phone with your Aunt..."

A grudging smile started across the young doctor's face as he faced his cousin, who was standing up from his seat on the couch in Charlie's office to take a mock bow at an invisible audience. Sitting back in the comfortable sofa, Richard put his feet up on the coffee table in front of him and asked

"So... gentlemen... Friday night. What are our plans?"

"Nothing for you I am afraid... Don't tell me you forgot!"

The mock serious expression on Darcy's face, accompanied by the barely concealed glee in his voice made the younger cousin sit up and pay attention

"What did I forget this time?"

"You are supposed to go to that concert... with Georgie and her friends tonight... It's in... two hours I think..."

"Oh shit!... I totally forgot about that. F**k!... why the hell did I agree to go?... Why the hell didn't you stop me Darce? You know how I hate it when Georgie's friends flirt with me and make her uncomfortable... It's gonna be a disaster... I already know it"

"Hey... don't look at me... you made your bed. Now lay in it. I'd get going if I were you..."

Richard left with a glare at his cousin, as if Will had been the cause for all his trouble, leaving behind a smirking Will and an amused Charlie. Dropping on to the seat that his cousin had vacated, Will turned to his friend

"So... Charlie... Any plans?"

"Oh yeah... I forgot to ask you... Are you free this weekend?"

"Why?... What's up?"

"Do you remember that estate Netherfield that my uncle left me in his will?... Well of course you do... You were the one who helped me with getting the right contractors for renovation. Well, it's been renovated and the work is finally done. I was gonna go over there to check it out... wanna join me? I figured it'll be a nice change of pace... you know, just relax for a couple of days away from the crush of the city... maybe get to know the locals a bit"

"Where is it again?"

"New Haven... Near the Yale campus I guess... I've been there only once before. So, what do you think?"

"Are any of your sisters gonna be there?"

Will's grimace matched Charlie's expression at the mention of the man's sisters. While Charles Bingley was the best friend a man could ask for, his sisters were a whole other issue. If Charles hadn't been the nice guy he was, Will might've thought about dropping him from his circle by virtue of his having Caroline Bingley as his sister. While the other sister Louisa, was married and just slightly daft, Caroline Bingley had all the instincts of a shark... a social ladder climbing shark. And she had unfortunately set her sights on Fitzwilliam Darcy from the day they had been introduced. While Will had tried, he found that he couldn't hate Charlie for the relations he had, just like he couldn't blame himself for having an aunt like Catherine. But Caroline was the one thing that could induce the usually imperturbable William Darcy to run like a man chased by a tiger... a man eating one at that.

Almost declining the invite at Charlie's less than enthusiastic nod, Will was forced to reconsider when he remembered that if he spent the weekend at Boston, he would have to spend time with Anne and his aunt. Anne was the only other woman he knew who could give Caroline a run for her money. And mother and daughter together, that too, over the whole weekend, was a thought that could not be borne. As a result, Will found himself nodding his yes, taking in Charlie's grateful smile while already regretting his decision.

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><p><em><strong>AN: And there we have introduced the yummy doctors Will Darcy and Charlie Bingley, along with the lawyer Richard and the ever hated Ms. De Bourgh... So what did you think of it?**_

_**Please send in your thoughts and ideas... any and all feedback is welcome... **_

_**Lotsa luv and cookies**_

_**MB**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Hi there!... Sorry for the delay in posting the next chapter but a whole buncha things 've been goin on in my life and it's been quite hectic. Will try and keep a regular posting schedule from now on. :)**_

_**Thank you for all the alerts, reviews and favorites. It is your support that keeps me writing. :)**_

_**Please don't forget to review your thoughts and ideas.**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

Breakfast at the Bennet household was usually quite an interesting endeavor, made even more so in the summer months, by the presence of all five daughters at the table. Over the last three years, the three older daughters had left home to live by themselves, Jane and Elizabeth shared an apartment in Boston while Mary got herself setup in an apartment in NYC. But now, it was summer and all five daughters of the Bennet family were in attendance at the Longbourne estate, Lydia and Kitty enjoying their summer holidays, Mary on a rare couple of weeks off from work, Jane with a summer transfer to the Yale Medical Center and Elizabeth, who had been drafted by her father to replace him as the interim chair for the Surgery department for the time being.

As a result, the breakfast table was hardly the quietest place in the house that morning.

"Jane... have you seen my pink shorts? I need to wear them for today's pool party and I can't find them anywhere"

Jane, who had been trying to read a couple of case files she'd brought home, looked up from her cereal bowl in a daze, before pointing vaguely in the direction of their youngest sister

"I think Lydia's wearing them Kitt..."

"Lydia!... Give me those shorts... they're mine and I am planning to wear them for the party in the afternoon"

"Nuh-uh... You wear something else... these go with my new flipflops"

"Give them back to me you cow... Mom!...Make her give me back my shorts! She's always taking my stuff and never returns anything..."

In the midst of the heated argument between Lydia and Kitty, Lizzie and Thomas Bennet seemed to be having their own little chat, this one about Thomas Bennet's classes and course syllabus, something the Elizabeth did not seem to be all that excited about, but was paying attention to her father for lack of any other intelligent conversation. She was determined to ignore any conversation arising from her youngest two sisters or her mother and with no conversation forthcoming from either of her other sisters, Lizzie had to make do with her father's sarcastic opinions about the complete and utter stupidity of his students.

Adding to the confusion was a jubilant Frannie Bennet, who had some news she was positively dying to share.

"Oh girls, girls... you're going to flip when you hear what news I have..."

As soon as she entered the room, the two youngest had forgotten their argument and were impatiently waiting on their mother's information, which was invariably good, considering Frannie Bennet was one of the society's most notorious gossip.

"Well, what is it mom?... are you e-ver going to tell us?" Lydia whined from her position, slouched down on the dining chair

"Yeah mom... I for one have a lot of things to do... so... today if you please?"

"Mr. Bingley is here!"

The blank stares that followed her statement were definitely not the reaction she expected. The silence that reigned after her pronouncement was so long as had never been heard before inside the Bennet household. Taking pity on her mother, Jane smiled at the older woman affectionately and asked the question that seemed to be on the tip of everybody's tongue

"Who... is Mr. Bingley mom?"

"Oh... you don't remember?... I told you girls before... Mr. Charles Bingley is the new owner of Netherfield... our neighboring estate. Remember I told you that his family owns Kerth Pharmaceuticals..."

More silence followed, but this time only for a few milliseconds before Lydia and Kitty were screaming in octaves only dogs and intergalactic travelers could hear, jumping up and down. Gratified at having finally gotten a suitable reaction to her news, Frannie sat back in her seat, fanning a plump hand over her red face

"Oh just the thought of having one of you girls married to him... it's making me quite flustered you know... Oh my nerves!"

"Oh come on mom!... Give it a break... We still haven't even met the guy and you're already making wedding plans. I am sure he's gonna be perfectly horrible... most men are"

"And you would know so much about men wouldn't you?, being the party animal you are... I swear Liz, if you've had more han two dates this whole year, I'll... I'll eat these pink shorts"

"Lyddie!... you are not eating my shorts! Mooom... tell her to give me my shorts back"

"Oh stop it Kitty! She's not going to wear out those shorts by wearing it one day... besides, I think it looks better on Lydia... find something else for you to wear... But none of this is going to help if we don't get an invitation to their housewarming party today. (sigh) If only... but then again... it's not like we have a dearth of things to do. I've planned to get my hair and nails done today... wanna go with me girls? We'll have a nice girls day out"

The pronouncement was met with a myriad of reactions. While Jane just smiled and shook her head no, Liz couldn't stop herself from snorting in laughter at the image of her ever wanting to go with Frannie Bennet to the beauty salon, Mary didn't even deign to answer and of course, Kitty and Lydia were already on their way out the door, ever ready for a trip to the salon.

Thomas, who was hidden behind the newspaper throughout this conversation, brought it down with a curiously wicked expression on his face

"Oh... you girls are going out are you?.. oh what a shame!... I thought we could go to the party next door sometime this afternoon. And that boy invited us so nicely too... Well, maybe some other time"

The high pitched squealing started again as Frannie joined her youngest two this time, almost jumping up and down in excitement, seeing as how her dreams of having her daughters married to wealthy young men were finally taking shape. Thomas was appropriately thanked with an overwhelming display of affection as Frannie jumped onto his lap and proceeded to kiss him in a way that had her daughters either gaping at their parents or looking away in embarrassment. Now that she had news of their being invited to the party, nothing could dissuade Frannie Bennet from her primary goal in life - to set her children up in positions that would eventually lead to their being married to men of fortune.

She and Thomas had a great life, being in love with each other, but they had also had quite a bit of financial problems, not the least of which was educating five daughters. Jane and Elizabeth had done their parts by getting full scholarships to study what they wanted, but in Frannie's mind, all that the family needed was a couple of wealthy and handsome young men. Getting her daughters set up with some of them hoping that atleast one or two of them might end up in a relationship and later marriage was her fondest wish... if some of her daughters fell in love with the young men along the way, all the better.

"Oh come on Lydia... Kitty, we have to get ready... just... four hours left to the party. Jane, do get up my dear girl... we have to make sure you look absolutely stunning today. You are by far the prettiest thing in this town and I am not going to let the young man pay attention to any other woman when he could be with you."

"Mom!... Jane is not just about her looks. Stop treating every social occasion as if it was a chance to set us up..."

"When you have five daughters Liz... you tell me what else will occupy your mind"

"Oh stop with the dialogue from Pride and Prejudice mom... This is not the nineteenth century for your kind information."

"Oh if only it were... People were so much more well mannered then... and girls used to listen to their mothers. Now get off your butt and start getting ready... there's no time to be wasted"

With a serious frown on her face, Lizzie turned back to her dad, only to find him smirking at her. While any other day, she might've joined him, Lizzie had already been feeling quite uncomfortable this week, feeling for the first time as if she didn't belong here anymore. The years she'd spent away from home, especially the last six months that she'd spent with Doctors without Borders in some of the war torn countries, had changed the young woman in ways she wasn't even aware of yet.

Elizabeth Bennet had always been a woman who took no bullshit from anyone. But she hadn't always felt so emotionally removed from everyone and everything before. Her sojourn with DWB had left her a bit cynical and quite jaded. Having seen just what some people on this planet had to go through just to survive the day, she could be excused for thinking that going to a party filled with rich snobs that had probably never known what it was to starve the whole day, was not of the utmost importance in her life... if only she knew what awaited her at Netherfield... or rather who, she might've changed her opinions. Or maybe not.

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><p>William Darcy still hadn't decided who to kill... The exhausted young man lounged in a hammock in the shade of a couple of huge oaks on the grounds of Netherfield while half-seriously contemplating murder. The moment Charlie and William had stepped foot onto the grounds of Netherfield, Caroline Bingley had attached herself to his arm like a leech. She'd even been dressed for the part, looking like the blood sucker she was in a black skin tight too short for company dress, that might very well have been painted onto her for the amount of her body it concealed. While Charlie had the decency to look apologetic, he'd done nothing to save his friend from the clutches of his sister. Will doubted whether it might've even made a difference had he tried... this was the first time in almost four hours that she was not clutching him to her side or talking his ear off about the latest fashion trends and 'who cheated on who'. Killing himself might've seemed like a good idea before, but now, it was a close competition between Charlie and his sisters.<p>

Caroline Bingley was the epitome of things Will hated in a woman. A socialite with literally no goal in life other than to have enough money to buy whatever she wanted, Caroline had set her sights on William since the moment Charlie had introduced his friend to his family. While their parents were pleasant people, Charlie himself being one of the nicest people you could know, Caroline was a cunning and shrewd woman whose beady eyes looked at William and saw nothing but the wealth she could gain by aligning her life with his. That he was easy on the eyes was just a bonus that didn't hurt.

While Caroline was the kind that openly went after what she wanted with all the subtlety of a trailer truck, Clarissa Hurst seemed to be nothing but a groupie to her sister. Whatever Caroline did or said was reflected by her older sister, who even after being married to Philip Hurst resided with him along with her parents.

While these might be the reasons William Darcy was contemplating committing murder, the main reason Charlie featured on his prospective list of victims was the fact that while he'd told Will about his sisters being present, the younger man had never mentioned that they were going to hold a party that evening. William had gone along with Charlie to New Haven for the express purpose of avoiding stuck up parties and formal dinners that his aunt seemed to think was her duty to give... and his duty to attend. Growing up with his Aunt Catherine bent on running his life had given Will, Georgie and even Rich a pathological dislike and even hatred of social gatherings. Now it seemed he was stuck being a part of another one of those distinctly uncomfortable social occasions where he didn't know anyone other than Charlie and certainly didn't want to get to know anyone else.

Wracking his brain for any excuse he could give to try and give the party a miss, Will knew that he was in for a draining evening and an even more exhausting weekend. Only, he had no idea just what.. or rather who, was waiting for him at the party. Had he known, he might've shown a bit more enthusiasm... then again, maybe not. William Darcy didn't know it at that moment, but this evening was going to change his life... whether it would be for the better or not only time would tell.

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><p><em><strong>AN: So here it is... another chapter done. I've decided to pretty much go with the flow and write what wants to be written for now. So I just might diverge from JA's plot if the fancy strikes me for an AU story at some point of time...**_

_**Your reviews and ideas are always welcome and hugely appreciated. I love hearing from you and appreciate your support. Thank you so much :)**_

_**Lotsa luv and cookies**_

_**MB**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Hi there!... here's the next chapter in the story. I wanted to do the whole of the Meryton assembly thing here itself but my muse had other ideas it seems... well, we'll see where it goes. **_

_**For now, enjoy the chapter :)**_

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><p><em><em>**Chapter 04**

Elizabeth Bennet heaved a sigh of relief as the whole Bennet clan stepped foot into the huge manicured lawn that stood behind Netherfield. It had taken five astonishing hours for her youngest sisters and mother to get ready for what seemed like a simple garden party. Obviously, they'd been mistaken about what the party was gonna be like because the three of them looked as if they were dressed for a costume party. While Lydia and Kitty could get away with looking as if the Bennets had no money to spare for clothes, it was their mom's outlandish choice of attire that made her want to blush.

Elizabeth, who hadn't blushed in years, felt her face infuse with red as she noticed a whole bunch of people look quite amused at the way some of their party had dressed. Even as she contemplated turning on her heel and going back out, the opportunity was snatched out of her hands when a tall, lanky red haired man was found walking up to them with a huge smile on his face.

Charlie Bingley was a very happy man that evening. Not only had he convinced Will to accompany him for the weekend, he'd also escaped with his life intact, even after having Caroline literally stick herself to Darcy in vain hopes of getting her mitts on his fortune. Charlie wanted to feel bad for his friend but couldn't really bring himself to, because whether he admitted it or not, he'd been somewhat enjoying the idea of the always in control William Darcy look so out of depth. Because that was exactly how Will had been for the last day or so... from the minute Caroline and Clarissa had shown up, Will Darcy looked like he'd rather shoot himself in the head than continue to suffer their company. Charlie had almost started fearing for his own life by the end of the day, but things apparently hadn't gone all that pear shaped, or more believably, he'd underestimated Will's capacity to stay in control of himself.

But these weren't the reasons that Charles Bingley was happier now than he'd ever been in his life before... the sole reason for his uplifted mood was standing in front of him in the angelic form of one of the girls that had just entered the lawn with her family. One look at her baby blues and Charlie knew that he'd completely lost control of his heart. Whoever she was, she was going to be the future Mrs. Charles Bingley... this was a fact and had been decided within two seconds of seeing her for the first time.

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><p>William stood next to his friend, getting bored out of his skull but thanking whatever saint was looking out for him that day.. he'd somehow managed to ditch the leech. Caroline and her posse consisting of Clarissa and her already drunk husband had wandered off when he'd pointed out in a not so subtle way, that she might have some competition when it came to fashion. The anorexic redhead hadn't been inclined to believe him, but to his eternal gratitude, a family of half a dozen ladies had just come in at that point of time and saved him. The sight of some ladies in, according to Caroline, 'not too out of date' clothes in such a backward town had finally succeeded in distracting the fashion obsessed Caroline Bingley from him.<p>

Will had never come this close to either killing himself or inflicting mortal damage on someone else in his life... Caroline Bingley seemed to have been created to irritate the heck out of him and she did her job admirably well. If things were going to stay this way, he'd have to find an excuse... any excuse really, to ditch Charlie and his family at New Haven and maybe escape to Pemberley for the week or so.

He'd been busy contemplating the near future and whether he should be feeling bad about his decision to ditch his friend when he felt the aforementioned friend stiffen up next to him. Looking at the redhead revealed the reason for the change in his emotions... Charlie was apparently in love... again.

This not so big revelation led to Will checking out the lady who was to be the target of Charlie's affections for the next seven days. Charlie's 'falling in love' routine always found tall, busty, blondes and lasted exactly for all of one week. After that it was on to the next blonde. The thing that never failed to amaze both Will and Rich was the fact that all of Charlie's past 'loves' stayed friends with him... some had even set him up with some of their friends. But then this guy was just so freakin nice that you couldn't even hold it against him.

Will had found out early in their friendship that Charlie Bingley always held an unfair advantage in any relationship. He was just such a terribly nice person, a genuinely good man, that being angry with him was like kicking a puppy... it just didn't happen. And looking at the girl who he was making calf eyes at, Will had to hand it to the man... he certainly knew how to pick them. This woman was quite tall, sort of delicate looking, blonde... of course and seemed to be, at first glance atleast, also a nice person. She was tastefully dressed in a flowery summer dress that suited both her personality and the occasion. For once, Will was close to being satisfied with Charlie's choice.

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><p>It wasn't an easy job... being Charlie's big brother of sorts. The man came to him with all sorts of problems, outlandish stuff at inhuman times... but Will had always been a very loyal friend. William Darcy had never had too many friends and he did everything he could to hold on to the ones he wanted around him. The debacle with George Wickham in their college days had proved to Will the necessity of having good friends, real friends around him.<p>

If it hadn't been for Fred and Rich's support during that horrible time, he and Georgie might've gone to pieces. For all the physical and emotional trauma that Georgie had gone through, it had been Will that had needed more support from his friends and family. Will, the man who'd never cried till then, spent the whole night weeping for what his baby sister had had to go through because of his carelessness. Though Georgie had apologized to him and Rich, and told him to please forget everything, Will hadn't been able to claw his way out of the deep pit of despair he'd dug for himself. After the death of their parents, Will had been handed one responsibility... that of Georgie's upbringing and he'd managed to so thoroughly fudge that up that it had resulted in her almost getting killed.

Just thinking about it and just how much that bastard Wickham had cost him made William feel like punching something... or someone. He could feel his hands clenching in frustration, his body stiffening up... he knew his face was screwed up in a grimace but there was nothing he could really do about it till he'd calmed himself down. Knowing that Charlie wouldn't mind all that much if he took this chance to escape socializing, he was just about to turn on his heel and walk out of the room when two things happened. One, Caroline the leech returned and as usual got stuck on his arm. Two, he finally noticed the rest of the people in the family that Charlie's latest 'love' belonged to.

The family seemed to be made up of about half a dozen ladies and one male. The man, he almost immediately recognized to be Dr. Thomas Bennet. While he didn't really admire the man himself, the doctor had been involved in some really interesting studies, some of which had resulted in cutting edge techniques and huge developments in the field of cardiothoracic surgery. As for the others, Will couldn't really make up his mind as to what to think of them.

Mrs. Bennet seemed to be trying her hardest to look as if she was the age of her daughters, and to her misfortune, failing spectacularly, while the two youngest seemed to be trying the exact opposite. The clothes they were wearing appeared too mature for someone so young. One other girl seemed to proclaiming herself to be a Goth. With the amount of black she was wearing, paired with her sombre expression, she could've been at a funeral. The other two women were what had caught, and held, Will's attention.

The one that Charlie was currently drooling over was certainly different from the rest of her family. She had this sort of 'all-american' quality about her that made you want to get to know her... But Will wasn't interested in her. Blue eyed blondes were more Charlie's territory... and while he hadn't really had any preferences before, Will thought that he could very well create one tonight and make it out as 'Woman with hair like chocolate silk, eyes like emeralds and a charming but totally sexy blush creeping up her face' and be done with it. Because try as they might, no other woman was going to fit that bill so perfectly as the one he saw standing next to the blonde.

While he wasn't so shallow as to judge a woman only by her looks, even Will had to admit that this woman was tying his insides up in knots... and he didn't even know her name yet. He spent an extra couple of moments drinking up her visage before he went to Charlie, because he knew that no ordinary woman from the back of beyond could possibly fill the shoes of William Henry Darcy's dream girl... simply because hundreds.. no joke there, hundreds of girls had tried their hand at it but none of them had been able to hold his attention enough to create interest. To Will, a rapier sharp wit and a sparkling humor were more important that a size zero figure and sparkling eyes... well, the sparkling eyes were definitely welcome, but as an add on... not as a qualification.

Drawing a deep breath and trying to exorcise whatever spell this woman had weaved on him, Will dragged a slightly protesting Caroline up to her brother and stood seemingly politely next to Charlie while the redhead finished his conversation with Dr. Bennet. From what Will could hear, it seemed as if Charlie had been in Dr. Bennet's class while he'd been in Med School and the young man was laying the praise on thick. If it had been anyone other than Charlie, Will would've been convinced that all this flattery was to establish a good impression on the daughter that stood next to the older man. But with Charlie, one knew that what he said, he usually meant... he was a very open and uncomplicated person... quite unlike his best friend.

Beside Will, Caroline was almost getting a crick in her neck, her nose was so high in the air. A second away from whining about being bored, her brother unwittingly saved his best friend from having to listen to her already high pitched voice go squeaky, when he turned to them and introduced the family to them

"Will, Caro... This is Dr. Thomas Bennet... and this is his family. His wife Mrs. Francesca Bennet, his daughters Miss Jane and Miss Elizabeth, Miss Mary and finally Miss Catherine and Miss Lydia Bennet."

Still busy trying to stop gawking at the one he now knew to be Elizabeth Bennet, Will unsuccessfully attempted to appear cordial

"Pleasure... Do you still teach at Yale Dr. Bennet?"

"Ah... I wish. I had some health problems of late and am on a sort of sabbatical now. My daughter Lizzie is taking care of my classes for this term. Maybe by the time the next term comes around, I can go back to torturing my students" the older man completed with a slightly wicked smile

"Oh Dr. Bennet... surely you must be joking! Why, you're one of the most well-liked professors at the university. I personally used to love your classes"

"I think Mr. Bennet was _trying_ to make a joke Charles..." came the grating voice of Caroline, her mocking tone clear to all of them... as clear as her emphasis on the word 'trying' and her calling Doctor Bennet as Mister Bennet.

As an uncomfortable silence descended upon the group, Caroline sniffed a little disdainfully and turned her nose up again. If Will hadn't been that ashamed of her behavior, he might've very well laughed at the sight she made. Clad in a brightly patterned blue dress, with a couple of fake peacock feathers in her hair, Caroline was looking every bit the proud peacock she was. The 'nose in the air' bit quite sealed the image in his mind and all Will could think of at the moment was to get away from her before he said something that he might regret. But someone else in the group had no such qualms it seemed

"And what it that you do Miss Bingley?"

While the query had been harmless in itself, the tone with which it had been made held all the punch the question had needed. There was anger, disdain and disgust in liberal amounts with a bit of superiority thrown in just for fun. Will turned to the person who'd asked the question, only to find himself staring into sparking emerald eyes through a pair of glasses.

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><p><em><strong>AN: So... here it is. The rest of it in the next chapter which should be up soon...**_

_**Hope you guys liked the story so far. What did you think of the way the characterizations are done? **_

_**Please don't forget to review... it makes all of this worth it to hear from you... :)**_

_**Lotsa luv and cookies**_

_**MB**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Hi there!... Another chapter done. More chapters in the offing. Will post soon.**_

_**Till then, enjoy!**_

_**Oh and don`t forget to review your thoughts and ideas for the story... :)**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 05<strong>

_"And what is it that you do Miss Bingley?"_

While everyone in the group understood the underlying emotions behind the question, the one person who would've benefited from the knowledge seemed to be stubbornly blind to the connotations. Caroline Bingley was actually taking the question at face value...

"I fail to understand what you mean Eliza"

Will felt rather than saw Lizzie flinch at the nickname... while himself doing the same thing mentally. If there was one short form of her name that would never suit, it was 'Eliza'. In his mind, she was already 'Lizzie'... he could've gone as far as thinking 'his Lizzie', but that was a thought for another time and occasion, when things weren't quite so tense.

"I meant... what do you do for a living Caro?"

Neither the delivery through slightly gritted teeth, nor the nick name were missed by any of the company, except obviously, Miss Caroline Bingley. She was, as usual, quite clueless to the undercurrents that were dangerously swirling around the discussion. But none of them had expected her to react the way she was. Will found out, to his intense discomfort, that Caroline Bingley's high pitched laughter, which sounded disturbingly like the cackling of a hyena, was much worse to his ears, mood and temper than her squeaky voice.

"You must excuse me... I didn't mean to laugh at your question. But just the thought!... You see... the Bingley's are a very old and very wealthy family... we can trace our history back almost 200 years. So I don't have to actually do anything. I am a socialite you see. My job is to make sure that the Bingley family is in the news and for all the right reasons. I couldn't expect you to understand though..."

Caroline looked around expectantly at the end of her little speech, as if she expected them to applaud or something. When no applause or ovation seemed to be forthcoming, she was back to her 'sniff and put your nose in the air' routine. In the silence that followed Caroline's enlightening statement, Lizzie's not-so-very-subtle attempt at concealing her laughter was quite obvious.

"Right... Of course. I forgot about your family's blue bloodlines and financial position. Of course you don't work like the rest of us normal people... How could you?... Hope it is not too difficult for you to rough it with such common company..."

The derision was clear as crystal in Lizzie's voice, making the atmosphere that much more uncomfortable. It seemed as if she knew exactly what she was doing but didn't care enough to curb her temper, or her tongue. Elizabeth Bennet didn't suffer fools and hypocrites gladly and this woman just happened to be both. Charlie, the one who could always ease tempers and bring awkward situations back in control, was himself at a loss of what to do.

While Will stood beside Caroline, still trying to not gape at the goddess in front of him, he was aware of Lizzie's emerald eyes moving from Caroline to the hand that the leech had wrapped around his arm, continuing on to his face in almost slow motion. That her expression did not change one bit was like a wake up call to him. It dawned on Will that given the circumstances, Lizzie probably thought that he was just like Caroline and believed in whatever bullshit Charlie's sister was spouting. While at a loss for what to do or say, Will remained quiet for the moment, but immediately found that he had committed an error, when Lizzie's expression hardened and she turned away.

Before he'd had a chance to open his mouth, Elizabeth was walking away from them, finding another woman she seemed to know well within moments. The two women seemed to be on good terms with each other given the fact that all the anger and derision that had been so apparent on Elizabeth's face just half a minute ago, was wiped off like a clean slate. She seemed to be truly enjoying the other woman's company, her eyes sparkling with humor and her whole face alit with happiness that almost radiated off of her.

While his heart had already been engaged by the woman, his brain still had a long way to go before he could reconcile himself with the act of falling for someone at first sight. Plus, there was the issue of her volatile temper and snap judgements. Will knew that it was still too early to be thinking about Elizabeth in any serious manner, but still, he couldn't find it in himself to just put her to one side of his mind and get one with his life. Elizabeth Bennet had made quite an impression on William Darcy and this was going to affect his life... one way or another.

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><p>Lizzie Bennet was a woman who made decisions quickly and stuck to them. It was one of the philosophies she lived her life by and she wasn't going to let some stuck up bitch and her sad little party make her change her mind about any of it. Lizzie had decided at the beginning of the day to have fun at the party, no matter what happened. And it had been only that decision that had made her stay at Netherfield, even after so much had happened.<p>

First off, her own family had no qualms completely embarrassing her and Jane. Dear Jane!... she was such a sweet person, so intrinsically good, that she could never have said anything bad about anyone. Lizzie had never heard her older sister complain about anything or crib about life being unfair. It was as if Jane had been sent down to earth with some sort of completely different set of ideals. To say that Jane was probably as close to perfect as you got, wasn't in any way biased or stretching the truth.

But then again, Jane's goodness had never affected the rest of her family in any way... Kitty, Lydia and Frannie Bennet always got their own way and that was how the Bennet family had managed to remain sane over the last decade or so. While not at the university, Thomas Bennet was known to be in only one place... his study at Longbourne. It had taken over all of the basement of the house, expanding every year to take up more space, till Frannie had put her foot down. So the 'study', which was more of an unofficial laboratory of sorts, was where he could be found when not taking a result, Thomas had never involved himself too much in the day to day running of his family or in the fatherly pursuit of correcting his daughter's shortcomings in a gentle but firm manner.

While Elizabeth knew of her own shortcomings better than anyone else, she'd always been fiercely protective of her family. Which was why she had sorta gone above and beyond her limits when snooty Caroline Bingley had tried to put down her father. Lizzie knew that she had been rather nasty to Charlie's sister but in her mind, Caroline Bingley had brought it upon herself and deserved every bit of criticism that went her way. She felt quite bad about losing control over her temper though. Charlie seemed to be a very nice person, sorta like Jane in the fact that his genuineness and openness just radiated out of him.

Lizzie knew at first glance itself that Charlie Bingley was one of the rare breed of genuinely nice people and also that whether something happened between Charlie and her sister or not, she would be good friends with the man. As for the others in Charlie's family, she didn't know if she would be able to sufficiently hold her temper to converse with them. Caroline Bingley seemed to be opening her mouth only if she had some derogatory comment to make and her groupie sister Clarissa just nodded along to whatever her younger sibling said or did. Phillip Hurst, the henpecked husband of Clarissa was more like a caricature than a real person. The man seemed to be a pompous asshole who drank enough to sink an elephant. The only good thing his drinking did was that he couldn't speak when he drank and the alcohol usually made him pass out pretty soon.

But it was the other man in the group that had Lizzie tied up in knots. She'd noticed the dark haired man the second she stepped into the party, mainly by virtue of his height and personality. Being almost 5 feet 10 inches in height herself, there weren't many occasions when she found herself looking up at someone. This was exactly what had drawn her eyes to the tall and athletic 6 foot 2 inch figure of the dark haired man who had been standing with his back to them. Though he was just standing in what was for him, a slightly relaxed manner, Elizabeth's curiosity had been tickled by the height, glorious masses of chestnut hair and the fairly stiff line of his back that ended in a... well, that was a thought for another time. Even from the back, Lizzie was able to gather that whoever he was, the man wasn't very happy to be there.

She might've thought about him a bit more had she not been distracted by Charlie's arrival and the consequent conversation. Then his stuck up sister had elbowed her way into the conversation with all the grace of a rampaging elephant with the who else, but the tall, dark haired man who she now knew to be Charlie's best friend Dr. William Darcy. Giving him a once over now that she could see him properly, Elizabeth had to admit to herself... despite the company he kept, Dr. Darcy was the stuff a woman's dreams were made of. With his height, his physique and aristocratic good looks, he could've graced the cover of GQ effortlessly... an edition she would've surely bought.

But alas... every good thing had to have a flaw. And with so much physical goodness, Elizabeth figured that it would have to be a character flaw... and so it was. While Caroline the Great had put her foot through every social convention, Mr. High and Mighty had just stood next to her, the expression on his face kept carefully non-committal. If that hadn't sealed his fate, it would've been the tight hold Miss Bingley kept on his arm, as if she was gaining strength from his well muscled bicep. Though why it bothered her so much, Elizabeth couldn't tell you if she tried.

While she hadn't quite expected either Charlie or his friend to run to their aid and curb Caroline's tongue, she did expect to see some sort of reaction from them. While she did get what she was looking for from the red head, William Darcy's face revealed nothing of his thoughts. This led Lizzie to naturally believe that he had no problems with whatever bullshit Caroline was spouting and that was the final nail in the coffin of the first impression Dr. Darcy had on her.

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><p>It was over an hour later that Elizabeth found herself near Dr. Darcy again. The man had proved her first impression correct by hardly conversing with anyone other than his friends, standing in one corner and glowering at the others and generally displaying disagreeable social graces. His behavior had firmly cemented Darcy's personality in her mind as a rich, stuck up hypocrite who saw everyone else as being beneath himself.<p>

It certainly hadn't helped that she had overheard a hardly flattering conversation about her and her sister between Charlie and William. She'd been chatting with her best friend Charlotte when the two of them had overheard the chat between the two guys.

"So... are you enjoying this amazing party Will?"

"There's nothing amazing about it Charlie and you'd see it too if you just took your eyes away from Miss Bennet long enough to blink"

Even though she had already decided to not like Will Darcy, Liz had to give it to him... he was perceptive enough to see the attraction between Jane and Charlie. But then it wasn't such a big deal because nearly everybody at the party had seen it too. Charlie had the good grace to blush a bit at the comment though

"Isn't she the most beautiful woman you've ever seen?... She is such a nice person too..."

Intelligently, Will managed to not comment on Jane's looks and instead said

"Yeah, yeah... she's the Betty Cooper to your Archie Andrews... a match made in heaven. Now go and let me stay here for the rest of this dismal party in peace."

"Come on Will... stop being a wet blanket and have some fun for a change... who knows?.. you might end up liking it"

"Ha ha... very funny. Just leave me alone Charlie... go and enjoy your Betty's sparkling intelligence"

Though it had been said with a smile, the sarcasm had the effect of putting Lizzie's back up. Gritting her teeth, she struggled to remain quiet... only Charlotte's steady presence beside her reminded her to stay still and listen

"But seriously... Jane is very sweet... and quite a good conversationalist too. You might end up liking her if you just got to know her. Come on Darce... don't be such a stiff... get out there and dance with somebody. Hmmm... How about one of Jane's sisters? I could ask her to introduce you..."

"Thanks but no thanks my man... I am fine here by myself. Plus I value my life and sanity... The only Bennet woman that seems to have a passable grasp of manners and social graces is your Betty... and maybe her other sister, though I doubt it. I'd rather not risk it... but thanks for offering"

This statement had the effect of Liz nearly beaning Darcy on the head with her glass of juice with Charlotte's restraining hold on her the only thing that saved Will's perfect head from a very painful meeting with a thick bottomed leaded glass tumbler.

"Look Darce... I didn't want it to come to this. People are gonna think you roll the other way or something if you don't dance with some girl or the other now."

"I did dance with your sisters some time ago... Charlie... is there any reason you're doing this?"

"Look... All I know is you're in a bad mood and it's because something happened back home. Is it Rich?... It's... It's not Georgie is it?"

"No Charlie... both Rich and Georgie are fine. It's... It's just... nothing. Don't worry. I am fine... I just got some news that's... well...it's nothing... just leave me to myself and go have fun. Jane Bennet seems to be looking for you"

"Okay... but seriously... you should have some fun. What about Jane's twin sister Elizabeth?... she's quite interesting I think. I have a feeling the two of you'll get along quite well... She's a surgeon too... maybe you guys could talk shop."

"Like I said before... No thanks. I have no intention of being glared to death tonight. That lady has some serious temper control issues and I'd rather not come in her line of fire. Plus I am not in the mood for being all social and chatty even if it is with another surgeon, who by the way is wasting her time teaching instead of being a real doctor. You know what I think of doctors who don't use their skills don't you Charlie? She could do so much more good if she was in a hospital taking care of patients problems rather than spending her days grading term papers of snotty nosed brats. Just... Please Charlie. Let me be... I promise I will not keep standing here on my own... Is that fine?"

Reluctantly, Charlie nodded and walked away to find Jane and Charlotte pulled Elizabeth far enough away from him so that even if Will turned, he wouldn't find them near enough to think that they could've heard the conversation. Will, for his part spent five more minutes standing around before he left the party and headed back to the manor house.

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><p><em><strong>AN: So there it is... another chapter done. **_

_**I however, wasn`t so happy with the way this chap`s turned out. What do you think? Any changes to be made? Any improvements?...**_

_**All suggestions and ideas are welcome... I would love to hear your thoughts on my take on a pseudo modern attempt at JA. So please don`t forget to review. :)**_

_**Lotsa luv and cookies**_

_**MB**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Hi there! Sorry for not updating sooner... but life happened and I also was quite busy writing up another story of mine... a Harry Potter fic called HP and the Winds of Change. Plz check it out on my profile if you're interested.**_

_**But for now, thank you for all the reviews and waiting patiently for this chapter... :)**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 06<strong>

Elizabeth Bennet, affectionately known as Lizzie to her friends and family members, decided that if there was somebody up there looking down on her, they absolutely hated her guts. Because there was so other logical explanation for what she had been put through in the last week or so. First, there had been the sudden shift from Boston to New Haven, then there was the adjusting to living with her not-so-easy-to-live-with family again, on top of that, there had been that abysmal party the previous night and the last straw was this morning.

Her dad, usually a pretty intelligent man, had proved that he was still a man, and thus completely fallible, by totally forgetting that the Bennets were to expect a visitor that day. They'd all been having breakfast, a usually noisy affair at Longbourne, when someone knocked on the front door quite imperiously. Her always scheming mom, had immediately thought that it might be one of those two handsome gentlemen from Netherfield next door and had made Jane open the door.

But the person who'd turned up was neither Charles Bingley nor the dreaded Dr. Darcy. It was a Mr. Bill Collins, a second cousin, that had written to Thomas about being in the area and wanting to visit. While Thomas had found a lot to laugh about from the young man's officious letter, he'd completely forgotten to inform his wife or children about the impending arrival of their cousin, thus making them all suffer the truly odious man's company for the rest of the morning.

Elizabeth knew that while her own family wasn't without faults, she'd never seen a man that had so many of them in him, in her entire life. Bill Collins had the intellect of a flea, the disposition of a peacock and the dulcet tones of a crow. Oh and not to forget his unforgettable looks, well, it would suffice to say that they were quite striking, and not in a pleasant manner. The man had not an ounce of sense in him, the entirety of his conversation centering upon some Lady Catherine, who seemed to be his boss and God, all wrapped up in a bundle of supposedly ravishing looks, the information again, courtesy of Mr. Collins.

By the time breakfast was mercifully done, Bill had somehow managed to convey very tactlessly that he was there at Longbourne looking for a suitable wife, as the great and all-that-is-good-and-pure Lady Catherine had all but commanded him to get one, because she felt that as her secretary, he had to uphold a good social image and he couldn't do that without a hostess in his home. A home, which he had chosen to inform them was in a fashionable suburb of Boston, had six bedrooms and a heated indoor pool, complete with pictures of it going around the table on his newly acquired latest version of the ipad. By the time the Bennet family was ready to face the day, Frannie had come to know of his financial conditions down to his last dollar, and all thoughts of the two handsome men from the previous evening had fled.

Of course, she chose to inform Bill as discreetly as she could, which, so as to say, was by pointing at her eldest daughter and whispering loudly enough for the rest of the household to hear her, that Jane, while being a perfect candidate for becoming his wife, was already being courted by a gentleman. Just listening to her mother's words, made Lizzie want to disown her family and move to Timbuktu just so that she could escape their mind numbing nonsense. I mean... What century was she living in?... rather, what the heck were they thinking? Bill had all but told them that his only reason for dropping in on them suddenly was because his boss had told him to buy himself a doll to play hostess with, and her mother was actively encouraging his stupidity by telling him that while her eldest daughter was perfect, she wasn't available... that she was being courted by somebody else. Courted. What the hell was her mom playing at?... Charlie and Jane had spoken to each other for fifteen minutes and suddenly Jane was reputed to be courted by him... and what the hell was courting anyway?

Lizzie might've been reaching the end of her tether, but Frannie's next statement just blew the whole tether to smithereens.

"Like I said Jane is already being courted by a young man... but my other daughters are definitely single. I personally think that you and Elizabeth might be a great fit... She would need someone structured and strong to handle her... rather stubborn attitude... yes... I think you two will get along very well together"

"MOM!... Keep your meddling thoughts to yourself... and don't even think of interfering in my life. I am not... repeat... not getting married to anyone now, certainly not... _this_."

Her expression when she said 'this' would've explained her exact feelings about the man in question to literally everyone on the planet. But unfortunately for Lizzie, her mom and Bill Collins were either from Jupiter or were completely unconcerned with what she felt or wanted.

"But Lizzie.."

She was already out of the front door before her mom could say anything else, leaving the older woman looking like a peeved child who'd been told that she wasn't getting an extra helping of cake. But that was also only till the cousin came up to her and said

"I like her Mrs. Bennet. She has the looks of a well bred lady and isn't afraid to say what she wants... of course, I would have to teach her to obey me and show respect to me, my colleagues and my boss the most generous Lady Catherine, but I think she will do very well."

* * *

><p>"Charlie... I can't do this anymore. I have to get back to Boston. Now."<p>

"Come on Will... just one more day... one more. Not more, not less... please"

"Nope. Sorry... can't do it. I'm leaving and I'll see you at the hospital when you get back"

"Sorry Darcy... I didn't wanna do this, especially now. But you're kinda forcing my hand here... so... You owe me for that thing that night with the girl at the bar..."

William Darcy stood in front of Charles Bingley, his almost lifelong friend and gave a perfect rendition of how to look like a gold fish. In all the years he'd known Charlie, the man had never been this strong willed. And now that he had his unbearable sisters around him, he had the gall to call in a debt. And a pretty embarrassing one at that.

Charlie knew he was invoking a long standing pact... He and Will had made a pact a long time ago about embarrassing incidents that happened when Richard wasn't around. Darcy's cousin was one of the closest people to him and had no problems teasing Will and Charlie unmercifully if and when the opportunity arose. So the two of them had made a pact back in college, for their mutual benefit. If Rich didn't know, neither of them would enlighten him. Knowing Will Darcy, the guy who never broke rules if he could help it, there were many more occasions when Charlie owed Will for not telling Rich about something so embarrassing that it would take Rich about a month before he got onto something else.

But last month, there had been this very interesting blonde at the bar they frequented... and mercifully, one of the nights which Richard Fitzwilliam actually had to spend working... something that everyone knew he rarely did. Not to mention the fact that Will had almost let a scrub nurse make a mistake that day during surgery and was trying to drown the knowledge of his imperfections in alcohol... also a very rare occurrence. Needless to say, a drunk William Darcy plus a ditzy blonde... not that all blondes were ditzy... just that one. Anyways, a drunk William Darcy plus a ditzy blonde, also more than a little tipsy had meant, a completely embarrassing situation for the usually in control doctor... suffice to say it had involved something very close to public nudity and police incarceration.

Fortunately, Charlie Bingley had been on the scene to save his friend from doing something he might... no... definitely would regret later. And that was the debt he was calling now... something Will had never thought Charlie would ever mention again... basically because he'd almost ordered his friend to never do so, once he was close to being sober again.

Sighing and letting his head drop like a puppet cut from it's string, Will nodded.

"Okay... you got it. We stay here in this hellhole till you say we can leave. But I am not staying in this house around your sisters for a minute more. I need to get away from them and their inch long nails. I'm going for a drive... don't worry if I'm not back by dinner... I'll let myself in"

With that, not even waiting for his friend's response, Will was out the door and heading to the garage at the side.

* * *

><p>While Will had never thought too much about the countryside or the scenery when they'd driven down, he was forced to admit that it was indeed quite a nice place to be, now that he'd had the opportunity to see it all at a not so hurried pace. Charlie's driving usually left a lot to be said... he was too fast and quite a bit more reckless than Will cared, but Will and Rich had both given up on trying to make Charlie drive slower... because any comment about his driving only made him more conscious about it and in turn, more nervous and speedier. It was why Will had spent most of the drive up clutching his door handle in a death grip but never made a sound.<p>

Will knew that he needed some time on his own, especially about the party the previous night... or rather, his reaction to the second Miss Bennet... 'Lizzie' his mind sighed like a school girl with a crush and Will ran a slightly shaky hand through his hair as he pulled over next to a sign that said 'Oakham Mount Viewpoint'.

The amount of feelings that had rushed over him at the sight of the woman in concern had him feeling a bit unbalanced and bewildered. Never before had any woman managed to get such a reaction out of him and Will knew that while he'd been able to control most of it from showing, he'd never had to exert so much force over himself and his emotions around anyone before, just to maintain a semblance of normality.

But then, his behavior yesterday hadn't been normal... it had been a sliver away from being cold and rude. But that was what happened to him when he was around people he didn't know or wasn't comfortable around. Charlie and his other friends knew of this... but he was sure that his behavior at the party had made him no friends in the Bennets. Georgie and Rich called him actively antisocial... but Will knew that they understood. He'd never been around too many people n life and the ones he'd actually been with, other than his family and a few close friends, expected him to behave in a certain way just because he was the son of his father and the heir to the Pemberley estate.

He was still so involved in his thoughts had he couldn't remember when he'd parked and locked up the car because when he looked up, he found himself almost half way down the path that would take him to the lookout point. Sighing a bit again at just how much this one single woman had affected him, Will started walking again, making his way to the end of the path.

He was almost at the lookout point when he noticed that someone was already there. No... not just someone... the someone.. the one who he'd spent most of his morning thinking about. It was Elizabeth Bennet who stood at the railing that separated the lookout point from the cliff face. Actually, it seemed to be a very angry Elizabeth Bennet... he could see her ranting and raving about something as she stood looking out into the vista, which he'd absentmindedly noted was quite beautiful. But for the moment, his eyes and mind were stuck on Lizzie Bennet and the way her whole being projected the anger and frustration she was feeling.

Knowing that he had to make his presence known quite soon and hoping that whoever she was angry at wasn't him... Will stepped forward and almost into her line of vision. He was slightly gratified when her ranting stopped abruptly but it also worried him that she didn't make any attempts to say anything else... there was a slight blush creeping up her neck and into her face that fascinated him but Will knew that he had to stay focused on the important issues here or Elizabeth Bennet wouldn't hesitate to kick his ass.

He cleared his throat slightly before muttering a greeting to her

"Good Morning... Dr. Bennet"

Her greeting in return was a bit frosty and kinda reluctant but Will decided to let it slide as he knew she'd been quite angry before

"Morning... Dr. Darcy... excuse me, but I have to leave now. I... I... I have to get back to the college"

"Oh... I am sorry for disturbing you but I was just driving around and I thought this was a good place to stop and think some things out."

"Oh that's ok... I should be going anyway... I'll get late otherwise"

She seemed to be almost squirming with her hurry to get away from there and Will wasn't ready to forfeit her company... not yet.

"Can I drop you off somewhere?"

"Oh no... I can get back by myself..."

Will knew that she couldn't have driven there... there were no other cars nearby when he'd parked. And the college campus was almost two miles away

"It's no problem... You didn't drive here did you?"

"Oh..."

She'd just realized that she'd walked all the way from Longbourne to Oakham mount, a distance of almost a mile and a half, without even thinking about it. Oakham mount was one of her favorite places in New Haven and her feet had automatically taken her there when she was too upset to think. Her mother's comments and Bill Collins' mere presence had driven her out of her mind and Elizabeth found herself blushing anew at what the high and mighty Dr. Will Darcy must be thinking of her now. She knew that she'd been ranting like a maniac when he must've caught sight of her.

"Oh... yeah. I didn't. I just... I wasn't in a great mood today morning and I guess I just..."

"It's alright. No need to explain... Just point me in the right direction and I'll drop you off where you have to be"

The smile that accompanied the offer, complete with a dimple on one cheek left such an impact on Lizzie for a minute that she could've sworn she felt her knees buckle.

"Th..Thanks... "

By then, they were back to the parking lot and getting in, Lizzie told him the directions to the college building she had to get to, sat back and relaxed... somehow knowing that she could trust this man to get her there safe and sound. Not for a moment did she worry about his driving or his sense of direction... there was something about him that made her trust him implicitly at the moment... something that she couldn't say hadn't been there the previous night. Maybe it had... but it had just been a lot more subtle.

Will on his part was overjoyed at the developments. He'd wanted a chance to just clear his brain and here he was, taking the one cause of confusion in his life, to her office. He'd never thought he would come across Lizzie that morning but fate it seemed, had other ideas. And who was he to go up against fate?

"So... If you don't mind me asking... what was it that had you so fired up when I came?"

Will couldn't prevent himself from asking and was rewarded with another soft blush creeping up her face before she shook her head

"N-Nothing... It was just.. you know..."

"Wellll... I actually don't. That's why I asked"

Will couldn't believe that he was actually flirting with her. Granted, it wasn't what Rich would've called flirting but it was enough for him and he'd still not come to any conclusion about the Miss Elizabeth Bennet that seemed to love converting his brain to mush.

"It's... It's just that my family is so irritating you know?"

The whole thing came out in a rush and Elizabeth had started to look distinctly uncomfortable and unhappy with the whole thing after that. So Will decided that it was time he stepped in and tried to control the damage

"Look... if it bothers you so much you don't have to say anything. I just asked because you seemed quite disturbed and I was wondering if there was anyway I could help. That's all. You don't have to tell me anything... but I'm willing to listen"

She shook her head, as if trying to throw a certain thought out by the sheer force of her will

"No... it's ok. I'm fine. It's just my mom... She's so... so... frustrating"

"Oh..."

"Yeah. I know most moms aren't like her. Yours probably is perfect"

She couldn't stop the sarcasm from bleeding into her words and immediately felt bad about it. He didn't have to be nice to her but here he was, being as nice to her as possible and she was taking digs at his family

She turned to him, just in time to see his face close down, the shutters visibly coming down on his silver eyes

"My parents are dead. Mom died while giving birth to my sister when I was about 8 years old"

And now she felt like kicking herself. She'd just taken a jab at his mom who'd been dead for more than 20 years now

"Oh... I'm so sorry... I don't know what possessed me to say that"

"Its'...It's fine. Don't worry about it"

But the tone of his voice indicated that his mood, which had seemed a bit upbeat before was completely and utterly gone... vanished at the mention of his mother. Elizabeth felt like kicking herself again. Now she had no option but to disclose everything to this man who she'd met only the previous night.

"Look... I didn't mean to say anything like that. It's just that my mom is kinda obsessive compulsive when it comes to her daughters' lives. Some second cousin of ours, a perfectly horrible guy called Bill Collins had come over for the week and he unfortunately told my mom that he plans to get married soon. So my mom, once she knew that he was quite well off, had the absolutely amazing thought of setting him up with one of her daughters... namely, me. That was what had me so angry when you found me and I guess that anger is still kinda coloring my words... So yeah. I'm sorry about what I said. And I'm sorry about you mom too"

The car came to a stop smoothly outside the building she'd given him directions to... and he turned to her with a slight smile on his face. The expression indicated that he was still down but at least, he was making an effort

"It's ok... I understand. We all have our share of infuriating relatives. I hope your issue with this second cousin works out."

"Yeah, me too... Thanks for the ride"

"My pleasure"

There it was again... that dimple literally made her feel her heart race. Elizabeth knew that she had to get out of the car that instant or she might say or do something incredibly stupid. So, she almost scrambled out of the vehicle and without a second look behind her, pretty much ran into the building that housed her offices and lab.

Will, still staring at the spot she'd been in less than fifteen seconds before, couldn't really work out what was going on. He shook his head, deciding that women were a mystery that might never be unraveled and drove back to Charlie's house, preparing himself for the assault on the senses his sisters were.

It was a pity both Elizabeth and William were completely unaware of the tornado that was about to enter their lives and annihilate everything that could be developing between them. A tornado named George Wickham.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: So there it is... another chapter done. **_

_**Please review your thoughts and ideas for the fic and don't forget to tell me what you thought of this chapter. The storyline is mostly going to follow the original but the motivations behind some actions will definitely be different. Or at least that's the idea in my mind right now... it might change a bit here and there later. Let's see... **_

_**Don't forget to click the blue button below and leave your feedback... I love hearing from you and would appreciate any and all kinds of feedback.**_

_**Lotsa luv and cookies**_

_**MB**_


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